Are The Open Wheel Gods Angry?

[Slowhands]

I don't remember a week like the one we're in, where so many high profile life-threatening incidents have happened across the world of racing. The latest:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...6/Kanaan.fire/

I was eating dinner at a nearby restaurant which has a couple of TV sets over the bar, usually tuned to sports channels, and suddenly on ESPN I see images of Tony Kanaan's 7-11 car going up in flames. The images from the in-car camera were extremely scary as he struggled to detach the wheel, unbuckle himself, and pull himself out of the car. I couldn't find any video on the Net, only this article, but some may show up in the coming days.

[dalyduo]

What is causing all these incidents?

As Geoffrey Rush said in Shakespear in Love... "It's a mystery..."

"There are good days and there are bad days... And this is one of them." Lawrence Welk

"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained." Mark Twain

"The cost of living's going up, and the chance of livin's going down." Flip Wilson

"Life is like a cobweb, not an organization chart." Ross Perot

"Life is full of misery, loneliness, and suffering - and it's all over much too soon." Woody Allen

And slightly dated but too good to leave out...

"You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, Germany doesn't want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named 'Bush', 'Dick', and 'Colon'." Chris Rock

After one look at this planet any visitor from outer space would say "I WANT TO SEE THE MANAGER." William S. Borroughs

[Slowhands]

Here's the vid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOi3n9XeEzw

[LimeRockRacer]

It was amazing how fast the other pit crews responded. Thank God Tony is OK. Competition and rivalry is out the window when it comes to safety of your racing brethren.

[dalyduo]

Great racer and guy with amazing awareness to pull the car away to protect his crew. Goosebumps watching those other teams respond. A mechanical failure that can kill you sitting still in the pits. Scary stuff.

[GEORGE]

Saw it live on Verses and it's even scarier on you tube!

My question on fire suit protection. They are tested for flame retardent ability.... What about when they are SOAKED with liquid fuel and ignited. They certainly aren't waterproof. So don't they just soak it in.... and then what happens when a fire erupts when the fabric is soaked?

[dalyduo]

From the Dupont Nomex web page:

Racing gear of Nomex® is inherently flame-resistant, which means its resistance to flame is built into the fiber. It also will not sustain combustion in air or melt when exposed to flame. Because Nomex® carbonizes and becomes thicker when exposed to intense heat, it forms a protective barrier between the heat source and the skin. This unique reaction to intense heat provides valuable escape time when flash fires occur and protects wearers against them. Nomex® delivers confidence while managing heat and flames head on.

Originally Posted by GEORGE

Saw it live on Verses and it's even scarier on you tube!

My question on fire suit protection. They are tested for flame retardent ability.... What about when they are SOAKED with liquid fuel and ignited. They certainly aren't waterproof. So don't they just soak it in.... and then what happens when a fire erupts when the fabric is soaked?

[Slowhands]

Originally Posted by GEORGE

Saw it live on Verses and it's even scarier on you tube!

My question on fire suit protection. They are tested for flame retardent ability.... What about when they are SOAKED with liquid fuel and ignited. They certainly aren't waterproof. So don't they just soak it in.... and then what happens when a fire erupts when the fabric is soaked?

Even if the suit is soaked, the actual combustion occurs at the surface that is exposed to oxygen, which in this case is the external one. So since the flames and heat are external to the suit, it is still able to do its job and protecct the drivers skin as described in Pat's post despite being soaked. Sort of how oil can burn on the surface of a lake or river. If the suit fibers themselves ignited, then that would carry combustion down to the skin much more quickly.

[Nick Andries]

TK has some of the worse luck ever. He is a phenomenal driver and always seems to have have something happen to him and it things he can do nothing about good thing he is okay

[Redneck]

I was glad to hear that gasoline is added to the alcohol. In the early CART Days, the workers used to put cotton balls on thier clothing in order to see the browning from heat. I was watching TK and the flames thinking how can I see the flames? But an agent added to the alcohol works great (similar to adding the stink to natural gas).

Just thankful that Tony is OK... a scare for me and everybody watching.

[GriffDogRacer]

Originally Posted by dalyduo

Great racer and guy with amazing awareness to pull the car away to protect his crew.

"I saw the flame, held my breath, closed my eyes and pulled out of the pit box and started getting out..." Now that's amazing grace under pressure; to remain composed and force the body to do what the instincts scream against to protect others. And to think some debate the athleticism of professional racers! I turn a def ear to such nonsense.

To Nick's point above - a dismal season for the gifted and personable TK.

[oldredracer]

Originally Posted by Slowhands

I don't remember a week like the one we're in, where so many high profile life-threatening incidents have happened across the world of racing.

Any of you guys around in the '60's and '70's??
1960-1969
Schell-qual
Bristow
Stacey
Cabianca-test
Von Tripps
Rodriguez-practice
Hocking-practice
de Beaufort-practice
Taylor
Bandini
Anderson-test
Schlesser
Mitter-practice

1970-Present
Courage
Rindt-qual
Siffert
Williamson
Cevert-qual
Revson-test
Koinitg
Donohue-practice
Pryce
McGuire-practice
Peterson
Depailler-test
Villeneuve-qual.
Paletti
de Angelis-test
Ratzenberger-qual
Senna

Small comfort to the Surtees family but we haven't had a fatality in F1 in 15 years. I remember how shocked my 12 year old son was when Senna died. He'd never considered the possibility as it had been 12 years since the last race fatality. Elio De Angeles and Roland Ratzenberger died in testing and practice, respectively, in the interim.

Lest we forget.

[oldredracer]

Originally Posted by Redneck

I was glad to hear that gasoline is added to the alcohol. In the early CART Days, the workers used to put cotton balls on thier clothing in order to see the browning from heat. I was watching TK and the flames thinking how can I see the flames? But an agent added to the alcohol works great (similar to adding the stink to natural gas).

Just thankful that Tony is OK... a scare for me and everybody watching.

Methanol burns without flame, hence the increased danger. 100% ethanol is what Trapper and Hawkeye made in the swamp. The gasoline is added to the ethanol in small quantities so you don't try to drink it.

[Slowhands]

Some well-written articles apropos to what we are all feeling, written by drivers:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/spo...icle826864.ece

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/spo...cle6727505.ece

[Redneck]

Ahhhh.... Silly me, I had credited the gasoline addition as a safety measure, but it is really added to prevent the race staff drinking it.

[oldredracer]

Originally Posted by Redneck

Ahhhh.... Silly me, I had credited the gasoline addition as a safety measure, but it is really added to prevent the race staff drinking it.

I watched 'Mr. Wizzard' on TV a lot as a child.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_RJtkKGw4c

Actually, I watched it 'cause his assistant was hot.

[Rosso]

Originally Posted by oldredracer

Methanol burns without flame, hence the increased danger. 100% ethanol is what Trapper and Hawkeye made in the swamp. The gasoline is added to the ethanol in small quantities so you don't try to drink it.

"Denatured", as it were. May also be a Federal ATF requirement that it be rendered undrinkable, perhaps because federal and state taxes have not been paid on it. Lots of ethanol made from corn in Kentucky. Most of it legally stored in charred oak barrels, but no shortage in quart Mason jars...

Watching the Kanaan video again, it makes you wonder if NASCAR has the right idea with their limited capacity dump cans. Still a dry-break valve on the end, but the capacity is limited and the hydrostatic head is lower, so the transfer rate is lower, malfunction or not.

[oldredracer]

Originally Posted by Rosso

"Denatured", as it were. May also be a Federal ATF requirement that it be rendered undrinkable, perhaps because federal and state taxes have not been paid on it. Lots of ethanol made from corn in Kentucky. Most of it legally stored in charred oak barrels, but no shortage in quart Mason jars...

Which is how Junior Johnson got his start. Wow. We came full circle on that one!!!